It looks like magic the first time you see it! How does it levitate? Surfing gliders on waves of air is called "walkalong gliding". Although I've made instructions for paper walkalong gliders, I think they are too difficult to start with. EPS foam (the common white kind made up of little puffy beads) is unaffected by humidity, much lighter, therefore slower flying--perfect for beginners. It's also the best for advanced hands-only flying and aerial dog fighting.

The problem is getting very thin foam. Making gliders from foam plates is cool, but such gliders fly much too fast for walkalong gliding. I had been sending out kits to interested people for testing. Now I have stopped sending until I complete second generation (simpler) designs with better (from recycled seafood containers) foam. I hope to resume in June--thanks for your patience.

You don't have to wait, though. You can make and practice air-surfing with a Big Mouth Tumblewing, which only uses phone-book paper or newspaper for material. If you really want to make the foam gliders, Part 6 shows you how determined DIYers could cut their own scraps of foam from discarded packaging, where to get inexpensive ni-chrome hot-wire for cutting and first generation patterns. Also stay tuned for better hot wire cutters. I've been experimenting and learning a lot--what a fun time to be alive!
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Part 1 Introduction to Walkalong Gliding and Why Foam?This video is an introduction and progress report about walkalong gliding and my interest in it. It answers the question of why I think foam is more suitable to start with than paper. If YouTube is blocked at your school, try this SchoolTube equivalent.
More information and transcript of narration.
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Part 3 "Flying Wings" and Build the JagwingThis video shows you how to build the Thompson Jagwing glider which uses a unique way to generate lift. It's quite straightforward to build and adjust, and it's very flight stable. If YouTube is blocked at your school, try this SchoolTube equivalent More information, troubleshooting and transcript of narration.
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Part 4 Build the Baby BugThe Baby Bug looks like a small, indoor hang glider, and it uses the same kind of airfoil lift as a hang glider. If YouTube is blocked at your school, try this SchoolTube equivalent More information, troubleshooting and transcript of narration.
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Part 5 Aerial Dog Fighting and Hand Flight Once you've built and learned to fly your gliders with a board deflecting the air, a new world of options opens up to you. Careening through three dimensional space, aerial jousting ( "dog fighting" ) is really fun and great exercise, though you will need more floor space than a typical house has. There are also some tips for using only your hands to deflect the air wave to surf on (that really looks like magic)! If YouTube is blocked at your school, try this SchoolTube equivalent. More information, troubleshooting and transcript of narration.
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Part 6 Hot Wire Foam Cutting So you want to cut your own foam, recycled from discarded packaging? It takes some practice but a simple hot wire cutter is not expensive and pretty easy to make. If YouTube is blocked at your school, try this SchoolTube equivalent. More information, troubleshooting and transcript of narration.
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Part 7 Build the Mama BugAmazingly, gliders actually become more efficient as they get bigger. So this video shows you how to use the last two big pieces of foam to make a giant Mama Bug glider that you can still fly with only your hands. If YouTube is blocked at your school, try this SchoolTube equivalent.More information, troubleshooting and transcript of narration.
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Part 8 More Walkalong Gliding So you have built and flown the gliders in this kit and you still want more. There is indeed a lot more! Check it out!